For obvious reasons, the Astros have made plenty of negative headlines in recent weeks. The start of the regular season continues to close in, though, so despite all the outside noise, the Astros will have to turn the page and focus on defending their American League pennant from a year ago.
When they do take the field the season, the Astros’ rotation figures to look quite a bit different than the all-world unit they relied on in 2019. Gone from that group are AL Cy Young runner-up Gerrit Cole and Wade Miley, a duo that combined for almost 380 innings of excellent pitching. Now, the Astros still have a great front-of-the-rotation tandem in Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke, and they’re slated to get Lance McCullers Jr. back after he missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Beyond, Verlander, Greinke and McCullers, the rest of the Astros’ rotation picture is less clear. However, pitching coach Brent Strom shed some light on it in a discussion with Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Strom suggested that Jose Urquidy is in line for the No. 4 spot. He also revealed that the Astros don’t expect to count on righty Brad Peacock as a starter. The veteran swingman made 15 starts in 23 appearances last year, but the neck issues that slowed him in 2019 have continued. Houston now expects him to factor into its bullpen instead of its rotation.
Regarding Peacock and the Astros’ starting staff, Strom told McTaggart, “I think you can probably count [Brad] Peacock out of the race.” Strom added that Peacock’s “probably more valuable to us in the bullpen,” leaving (in his view) Austin Pruitt, Josh James and Framber Valdez to compete for the No. 5 position. Although towering righty Forrest Whitley has been one of the Astros’ top prospects for at least a couple years, he’s probably not “a viable candidate” to land a job in their season-opening rotation, according to Strom.
Among the actual competitors for the Astros’ No. 5 position, only Pruitt’s new to the team. He joined the Astros in a trade with the Rays last month. The 30-year-old’s known for his high spin rate, but it hasn’t translated to much major league success thus far. Since debuting in 2017, Pruitt has posted 199 2/3 innings of 4.87 ERA ball (with a far superior 4.17 FIP and a solid 48.9 percent groundball rate) and recorded 6.63 K/9 against 2.25 BB/9. He’s out of minor league options, so he’ll have to earn a place on Houston’s 26-man roster or potentially be lost on waivers.
James, a fellow righty, and the left-handed Valdez still have options remaining. The hard-throwing James made an encouraging – albeit brief – debut in 2018, though he had difficulty with control in a relief role last season. The 26-year-old ended up tossing 61 1/3 frames and notching a 4.70 ERA/3.98 FIP with 5.14 walks per nine. On a better note, he did log a tremendous 14.67 K/9 while averaging 97.2 mph on his fastball.
Valdez, also 26, joined James in amassing lots of innings but struggling to throw strikes last season. He walked 5.6 hitters per nine, helping lead to a 5.86 ERA/4.98 FIP in 70 2/3 innings between the Astros’ rotation and bullpen. Valdez’s strikeout rate (8.66 K/9) was a lot worse than James’, but he did induce grounders at an outstanding 62.1 percent clip.
Just-hired manager Dusty Baker will clearly have to make some key decisions in forming a new-look rotation before the season commences. Verlander, Greinke and McCullers are locks, but the Astros don’t have any proven commodities after that trio.
bkbk
Im gonna be the first to call it. Astros just barely miss the playoffs.
PinstripedPride
Oakland is going to finish ahead of Houston this season, and absolutely nobody except Astros fans are going to be sad about it. I cannot wait to see the living hell that baseball puts these cheaters through
Rudy Zolteck
Lmao said the Yankee fan. You have probably been saying this for the last three years. Wipe your tears man.
PinstripedPride
The only tears that will be shed is that little Altuve when he gets one at 100 mph on his wrist or his ribcage
Rudy Zolteck
Lol thanks for making it easy to see how hurt you are, grandpa. I thought you’d feel a certain way about throwing at guys after seeing Stanton and Judge take plunks off the face and wrist but ooooookay. Yeah man your analysis is really reliable hahaha, I’m guessing knocking Altuve out of the game is the only way you think the Yanks can beat them? Both teams are really good. You shouldn’t have to stoop so low.
Rangers29
Here’s the backstory to your comment @PinstripedPride, in 2020 Gerrit Cole will get the Yips, and when they face the Astros a few weeks into the season, Gerrit Cole will plunk Altuve in his ribcage at 100mph because he can’t find the strikezone anymore.
PinstripedPride
I’m likely much younger than you, but OK. And no, the Yankees will beat them, plunking or no. It would just be extra satisfaction to see it happen.
Rudy Zolteck
Being a grandpa isn’t about your birth certificate, it’s about your take. And ranting about drilling Jose Altuve with gas is USDA certified grass-fed peak-MLBTR tough guy material.
Like I said the matchup will be fun to watch but we’ll see.
CriminalMethod
Stoop so low? As low as the Astros?
bass86
the Yankees are going to beat the Houston Astros? that’ll be a first….
caldo19
Better than average chance Oakland doesn’t make the playoffs, even if they know what pitches are coming. Dream on pinstripedmoron
budgreen420
They won 97 games two years in a row without cheating.
The assbros are are steaming pile of turd. Their organization is garbage. They are significantly worse this year.
My prediction: Bregman and Altuve come out of the closet after going on the IL with butt issues. Verlander finally breaks. Correa gets his ass kicked by Cody Bellinger at the AS game. Gurriel and Reddick take D-cells to the dome in their first game in NY. The rest of the assbros finish 6 games behind the Mariners for last place in the division.
Rudy Zolteck
Nice meme
Koamalu
They won 97 games two seasons in a row with a solid pitching staff. This season they have 2 guys that made a total of ZERO starts last season, a guy that had 29 IP because he was coming off TJ surgery, and another that is coming off a PED suspension and was not good without steroids. The other guy is Fiers.
79 starts of 3.91 ERA are gone from last years staff to be replaced by rookies, a TJ returnee, and a steroid user.
ChapmansVacuum
If you think that OAK had a solid SP staff the last two years your smoking some good Cali Bud. They had a useful SP staff despite it being made up of Ejax/Cahill/Anderson et al. They have equivalent floor pitchers this year with ceilings that are much much higher.
LouisianaAstros
As an Astros Fab I don’t truthfully care where the Yankees finish
They aren’t important enough to me.
jmaverik
Says a fan of the biggest cheaters in baseball.
astros_fan_84
Yankees also stole signs in 2017. Judge probably cheated.
bass86
The Yankees are the ones that started all of the sign stealing. It originated in their clubhouse. They were caught in 2015 doing this. Red Sox were caught in 2016 as we’re the New York Mets. For some reason nobody wants to talk about that. They just want to bash on the Astros.
If you love the game of baseball and are truly concerned about the integrity of it you would be honest about the situation we have right now. I don’t even blame the New York Mets the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox for starting all this. I blame Major League baseball. I blame the instant replay. The inception of the instant replay led to Major League baseball putting live feeds of the games in club houses so that teams could determine if they wanted to challenge a play in a quick manner. Nobody thought of the unintended consequences of putting a live feed so close to players, coaches, and personal. Nobody even considered that this could be abused in this manner. Which to me shows a serious lack of intelligence and imagination. Once again this all falls on Major League baseball. Just like the steroid era they could have done something about it a long time ago. They knew this was going on. They’re just so concerned about their precious game times and how long they run that they were willing to look the other way to save a few extra minutes
Frisco500
I’d hardly say Miley was a part of excellent innings. His 3.98 era was adequate for an innings eater. That’s about it.
I’m interested to see what kind of spring Whitley has. Opportunity is there, wonder if he can rise to the occasion.
Rudy Zolteck
Before he absolutely collapsed, he was carrying a low 3. Overlooked part of their season because of the way he disappeared.
ammiel
is it not a bit premature to call McCullers a lock to return to the 3rd cog in the rotation; i think we may want to see him pitch post TJ surgery first. Very surprised Houston have not added some form of veteran rotation option, to compete in camp at least.
budgreen420
What veteran would want to sign with that scumbag, dumpster fire of an organization?
They had the best pitcher in the game, dude couldn’t wait to get the hell out of that place. He was wearing a Scott Boras hat during postgame interviews ffs.
Rudy Zolteck
I think you’re ignoring the situation he was in where he got passed over to finish out a world series and get a title for himself, lol, that was clearly the reason if you followed the game and the postgame proceedings.
budgreen420
That was the spin put on it at the time. Now that we know the truth, it makes more sense that someone that hates cheating couldn’t wait to be disassociated with a group of scumbag cheaters.
Rudy Zolteck
Why is that “narrative” so doubtful? You could see Greinke crying in the dugout lol why is it hard to believe Cole did not like being disrespected by Hinch in such a way?
Update, read your other post and wow I wasted my time typing this, why even bother lol
Koamalu
Sadly enough for Angels fans, McCullers already looks good in spring training. The Astros said he started his regular throwing program in December and the film I saw of him has looked really good.
ChiSox_Fan
Astros articles should be banned from this rumor site indefinitely because of the negative headlines.
Rangers29
Their staff will be as follows:
Verlander
Grienke
Mcullers
Urquidy
Whitley
Greinke will fall off a cliff next year being on a team surrounded by negativity (and he’s like 36). Verlander will stay sharp, I’m not saying Cy Young sharp, (because that belongs to Kluber), but he’s still like a fine wine. Mcullers will hover around a 4.00 era the whole year as he readjusts. Urquidy will have a breakout year, he reminds me of Trevor Bauer quite a lot. Whitley will be a bust, he will be the first of many guys to step in as the 5th starter in Houston.
Rudy Zolteck
5th starter they will probably have to play around like they did last year. For Greinke though idk, he’s aged pretty gracefully into being a junkballer. Nothing really alarming about his peripherals or transferring to the team, and it’s not like he’s falling from 95 to 93 and drastically plummeting. His ERA+ actually didn’t change. He played well for some awful Royals teams so I don’t really get the whole mental toughness bit. He almost won them a title, lol. I think he will do fine. One thing to watch is the baseballs though.
Koamalu
If the baseballs change, that actually benefits Greinke.
Rudy Zolteck
Yeah that’s what I was getting at, seems like if they go back to the normal drag it benefits him greatly. Normally he has been able to limit longballs.
lsujedi
Zero% chance that Whitley starts as the #5. Luhnow was there guy who posted his guys up despite results. Forrest gonna have to prove alot and even then they wouldn’t want him to pitch a full season’s worth of innings.
Rudy Zolteck
Luhnow did magically land a good hunch with pushing Urquidy to the front of the line, though. Accidentally great idea, lol, but yes Whitley has to throw strikes. Shame because in terms of pure stuff there aren’t too many better right now in any system. Framber Valdez is an even more frustrating version of this. Incredible ground ball % but then all over the place.
Edelapena08
It’s gonna be a good spring training battle for those last two spots…let’s see who steals the show……………
ifyouaintcheatingyouainttrying
Astros need to just embrace the image as the new bad boys of baseball. Change their colors to black and orange. Have their own personal trash cans in the dugout, beating on them every pitch thrown. I’m going to love watching this year
Rudy Zolteck
Honestly they should have just accepted the position of MLB’s Iron Sheik and just not had that phony press conference. If you’re going to turn heel at least learn to give a good promo.
ifyouaintcheatingyouainttrying
Agreed. They should have just stood up there waving their rings
empirejim
If you aint cheating you aint an Asstro………….
brandons-3
The Astros are looked at in the same light as the Patriots now. The only thing that silenced haters is continuously winning championships. Manfred and Crane completely botched this operation to the point of no return. It should die down for Manfred once the regular season gets underway, but the only thing that can button the Astro haters is winning it all.
Halo11Fan
Brandon, how does one tainted World Series title put you in the same light as the Patriots?
The arrogance of the fans is only exceeded by the arrogance of the players.
Koamalu
You mean they are looked at as the best team of the last decade in their sport?
ChapmansVacuum
Best team? They dont even have the most WS wins in the last 10 years. One title does not a dynasty make dude.
its_happening
He was poking fun at Brandon comparing Houston to New England. You comprehended this thread like it’s A’s October baseball – a total fail.
maxorange33
My prediction, with all the negative energy surrounding the ASStros as well as playing half their games in places with signs, chants, boos and vulgar suggestions thrown at them they will wilt under that negativity.
I can hardly wait for Altuve, Bregman, Springer to go in any kind of slump, and may never find the way back for awhile. So no playoffs no matter how good their pitching.
Rich Hill’s Elbow
If the Astros don’t even make the postseason in 2020 they should consider a rebuild of some sort. Of course I’d hang onto Correa, Bregman, Alvarez, and Tucker, but beyond that I’d say everyone is fair game.
Rudy Zolteck
Tbh I can see them having to take a step back in 2021 and figure something out unless all their pitching depth springs to live overnight (like if Javier blossoms into a TOR guy, Valdez/James magically finds it). Realistically after their aces leave they would need to take a look at where they’re at.
Rich Hill’s Elbow
I don’t think Grienke is going anywhere, but I do think Verlander could potentially be dealt at this season’s deadline if the opportunity presented itself.
Regardless of the tainted image, I think he definitely could bring back a couple top pitching prospects to supplement Whitley, Urquidy, and McCullers Jr. in the future.
Rudy Zolteck
That’s a fair way to look at it. In my opinion, if Whitley just magically puts it together and becomes the top-tier arm he is “supposed” to be then it’s almost like their plans change immediately for 2021; that would give them their five starters going into 2021 if they don’t move anybody, and suddenly they’re back in business. But obviously if he doesn’t throw strikes then none of this matters.
But ofc with recent champions it’s never really possible to just crush it 100% and times come where the team just has to bite the bullet, and I really do think it’s going to be one of those times in the next few years. Not like they will keep winning 100 games every year.
cawa
Why even bother mentioning the Astros.They should all be in prisons and only Chump Trump can get them out.
MikeyHammer
What happens if one, or more, of the Astro hitters start out slowly ? Not out of the question. Will the mind$&@“ set in ? Guilt is a heavy emotion. It will manifest itself in the worst ways. Will these guys start questioning their ability ? Can I still do this without the help ? The Tell-Tale Trash Can, anyone ?
Rudy Zolteck
This is a good question because Bregman noticeably starts off slow every season it seems. He came in lighter to camp though (I think?) and is intent on busting it but who knows.
MikeyHammer
It will be interesting to watch.
JustCheckingIn
Their two real locks are 36+37, McCullers is coming off TJS and far from a lock to be a solid 3 starter. And the rest of the rotation is patch work
They better pray Greinke and Verlander are healthy+ effective. Or It could be an ugly year
And if they’ve really been cheating for 3+ years… no guarantee how these guys really hit To say “offense will carry them”
Loads of questions from a 107 W team..
StPeteStingRays
MLB wide April 1st is mini trash can giveaway with a limited edition, shirtless Altuve bobblehead.
Yankonthis
That’s funny. How original.
wbranger
I agree with you. Though the lineup can carry them through a lot, their pitching is questionable, and average at best.
Have never wished injuries to anyone, but I think they are 1-2 players away from struggling against an improved division.
lsujedi
I had no idea the average MLB rotation had a reigning cy young winner and former cy young at 1 and 2. Weird…
wbranger
At some point, accomplishments are in the past. The Texas Rangers have a two time Cy Young winner. I guess they are above average now?